Day by Day
by Lipsticked Mirror
Summary: Mike is absolutely devastated when Tina breaks up with him for his best friend... but the real reason is hidden behind an earth-shattering secret. Based on BigBang's music video for their song "Haru Haru".


**Hey guys,**

**I ended up trying to clean this up today, because of that rumor that FF is going to delete stories with song lyrics, graphic violence, sex, etc. Which is dumb, but whatever. Just to keep this on here, I took out the BigBang song lyrics I had at the top of the story, and will clean up all my stories with lyrics at the top. This is NOT an update.**

**Thanks! LM.**

Disclaimer: Neither _Glee_ nor BigBang is mine, no matter how much I wish they were. Rated T for some language. And, for all intents and purposes of this story, Sam and Quinn are NOT together, and Sam and Mike are best buds (because it sure seems like they are on the show). And note that the italicized segments are flashbacks, generally.

* * *

Mike Chang felt a little empty inside. Well,"a little" is an understatement.

How else would anyone feel when they have just lost the love of their life?

* * *

On his way to calculus, Mike walked along the hallway of William McKinley High School with a lot less energy than usual. There was no spring in his step, and his head hung low. However, he looked up instinctively when he was about to pass _her_ locker.

And there, he saw _them_. He came to a slow stop in his tracks at the sight.

Tina Cohen-Chang was pulling books out of her locker while Sam Evans was leaning against the ones next to hers. Sam was speaking softly to her with a small smile on his face, while Tina was giggling like a schoolgirl. As soon as the blond quarterback caught sight of Mike, his posture straightened up as he whispered quickly to Tina, who immediately turned to see her ex-boyfriend.

Her jaw dropped slightly for a short moment. And for that short moment, Mike felt a sliver of hope that she regretted her decision to end things. But then his hope was dashed as she smirked, slammed her locker door, and grabbed Sam's hand. Mike felt a piece of his heart break as he watched Tina pull off his promise ring from her finger and give it to Sam. He unconsciously rubbed the matching ring on his own hand.

And he felt the rest of his heart shatter as he watched his former best friend and ex-girlfriend walk down the hall, hand-in-hand, passing him like he never mattered.

* * *

"_I'm sorry, Mike. I just can't do this anymore… I can't do 'us' anymore," Tina said._

_Mike took a deep breath, trying to not let the tears slip out. "Why, Tee? What did I do wrong? Just tell me, and I can fix it, I swear! I love you too much to let you go without a fight."_

_She sighed. "It's nothing you did, I promise. I'm just…I'm just not in love with you anymore, Mike. I don't know if I ever was."_

"_Why? Just tell me why, Tina. I deserve to know at least that much."_

"_Mike," she hesitated. "There's someone else."_

_Just as he was about to ask who, he saw Sam sauntering confidently towards them._

"_Hey, Tee, you ready?" Sam asked. He put his arm around Tina's gothic cape-clad shoulders, then looked at his best friend (or rather, former best friend). "Hey, Mike."_

_Mike's jaw dropped while his hand unconsciously turned into a fist._

_Tina smiled up at Sam and nodded, grabbing his hand. She looked at Mike sheepishly before leaving with Sam. _

"_I really am sorry. But I guess this is goodbye, Mike." She hesitated for a moment. "And please, just forget about me. Let me go."_

* * *

Football practice was…tense, to say the least. All Mike thought about during the whole time was ripping Sam's helmet off and then breaking his jaw. Instead, he settled for taking his aggression out on Sam by letting him get sacked by Azimio multiple times. Playing blind side had some benefits, he supposed.

"Dude, what was that about?" Sam asked angrily, cornering Mike at his football locker. "You're supposed to be protecting me on the field, Mike."

Mike slammed his locker door closed. "Think a little, Sam. Don't let the bleach get to your head too much."

"We're supposed to be best friends, dude. You don't leave a guy out to dry like that."

"Just like you did to me, _best friend_?" Mike hissed. "You stole my girlfriend and expect me to pretend that everything is fine and dandy? I thought you were a good guy, Sam—a leader and my best friend. I can't believe you would do this to me."

"Oh… Right," Sam said. "Mike, I'm really sorry, but you need to move on. Tina and I are together now, and we're happy. She doesn't care about you anymore."

Mike glared at Sam for a moment. He growled, "Fuck you, Evans." Then he lunged.

Sam's pretty face (thankfully) wasn't marred due to the fact that it took both Puck and Finn to hold Mike back. Mike struggled against them, and Sam smirked.

"Think about it, man," Sam said, approaching him. He pulled something out of his pocket and held it up in front of Mike's face. It was the white gold promise ring that Mike had given Tina. Sam leaned forward towards his former best friend and quietly said, "If you _really_ love her, let her be free and happy." And with that, he left the locker room.

Puck and Finn let go of Mike once they felt that he had calmed down enough and knew that Sam was safe from the Chinese dancing ninja running after him. But then Mike angrily kicked a locker then sat down on a bench, his hands raking through his hair and tears streaming down his face.

"Dude, we need to tell him," Finn whispered. He couldn't stand seeing his friend like this. "He's hurting."

Puck put his hand on Finn's shoulder. "No. We promised her."

* * *

Sitting on a swing in the park, Mike contemplated his time with Tina. _Where did I go wrong?_ He thought. His heart sank with every small swing that he took. _What does Sam have that I don't? But…I guess if I really do love her, I need to let her be happy…_

Suddenly, Mike felt a vibration in his pocket. He pulled out his cell phone to see Finn's name on the caller ID. Mike answered, "Hey, Finn. What's up?"

"Mike," Finn began. Mike could sense the hesitation in his voice. "You should come down to the hospital."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"It's Tina…"

"WHAT?" Mike yelled, as he jumped off the swing.

He paced and ran his fingers through his hair impatiently as he listened to his friend explain.

Finn's story began like this: Tina was diagnosed with a rare cancer six months earlier, but she was told by her oncologist that they found it too late and in a very aggressive stage with no form of effective treatment. She was given a year to live, but the oncologist explained that she would increasingly weaken within the last six months and it would be incredibly painful for her, so much that she would need hospice treatment. After a lot of thought, Tina had opted for another option: assisted suicide, which was scheduled for that day.

"She didn't want you to know, Mike. Tina thought that it would be too painful for you. That's why she set up this whole elaborate thing of dumping you for Sam. She still loves you, but she didn't want you to suffer with her and remember her that way. She was hoping that you would be angry with her and move on. I think she was being stupid, but she thought this would be the only way to protect you."

Mike wiped away the tears that seemed to have no end. He took a deep breath and said, "I gotta go, Finn," then quickly ended the call and stuffed the phone back in his pocket.

And then?

He ran.

* * *

After running for two miles, Mike finally reached the hospital. However, right after he ran through the hospital's sliding doors, he was met by Sam who was clearly waiting for his arrival. Mike came to a halt.

Sam looked up at him, his eyes filled with sadness. After looking around quickly, he approached Mike with his head down in shame. "I'm so sorry, Mike. I'm sorry I lied—that _we_ lied. We just wanted to protect you."

Mike stared in silence as Sam stuck his hand in his pocket and yet again pulled out Tina's promise ring. He handed it to Mike. "She really does love you."

His throat dry, Mike croaked, "Where is she?"

Sam pointed him in the direction of the oncology ward and told him the room number.

Tina stared up at the ceiling as she lay on her bed. Both of her parents were on either side of her, crying and holding her hands, and her friends were all huddled together in her hospital room. The time was near.

Her last thoughts were of Mike Chang, the great love of her life who had brought her so much happiness. She reviewed all of her memories of them together: Asian camp, their duet, his abs, their dances, their dim sum dates, their first date at Breadstix, the first time he told her he loved her, the time they exchanged promise rings. Tina was glad that, in her short lifetime, she was able to experience true love.

He headed straight for the oncology ward, only to find the rest of the Glee club waiting in the hallway. All of their eyes glistened with tears as they gave him looks of sympathy.

Puck was the first to get up and approach him. "She's already gone, Mike. I'm so sorry."

Mike froze. The tears that had been threatening to appear finally fell, and he haphazardly ran his fingers through his hair. "No. NO!" he cried, as he pushed Puck away and pounded against the wall.

He heard creaking and turned to see its source. On the gurney was Tina's still body. The nurse pushing it stopped once she saw the group of friends and allowed them their moments of peace. But Mike ran towards the body and grabbed hold of one of his beloved's hands. He couldn't believe how still she was, that she wasn't gripping his hand in return. The love of his life that gave him courage to sing and the confidence to open his heart and be himself with her was gone.

Mike kissed her cold lips and knelt next to the gurney. He dropped his head close to Tina's and wept. "I love you, Tina. Why would you put me through this pain? I could have been there for you! You didn't let me even say goodbye! I never got to say goodbye…"

* * *

Mike woke up gasping and soaking with sweat. The adrenaline from the dream—or rather nightmare—was still pumping through his body.

While looking around his bedroom and reorienting himself to reality, Mike nearly cried from all of the emotion he just endured. Ok, "nearly" is an understatement. He did cry.

Later, while he was putting books away in his locker, he felt a pair of small hands squeeze his shoulders. The owner of those hands whispered in his ear, "Hey, babe."

Mike turned around to see a smiling Tina. However, Tina saw the redness of Mike's face and his bloodshot, swollen eyes. Her smile dropped. "What's wrong, honey? Have you been crying?"

He pulled her in for a tight hug, needing to know that she was real. "Tee, I had the worst dream last night! You dumped me for Sam and made me feel like crap, and he and I got into a fight over you, and then I get a call from Puck saying that you were going to die in the hospital from cancer, and when I arrived Sam gave me your promise ring and told me the story of why you broke up with me to protect me from the pain of you dying, and when I tried to reach you, it was too late. I never got to say goodbye. You were gone, Tina. And I don't know how I can live without you. I love you."

As he ran out of breath, exhausted, Tina was trying her hardest to stifle a giggle. "Oh, Mike… I'm so sorry. That sounds awful! But I think I get the message."

He gave her a puzzled look. "You do?"

She laughed. "Honey, you don't need to make up a story about this depressing nightmare! You could have just told me!"

"Told you what?" Mike's confusion grew even more.

"I get it, Mike! I won't force you to watch or listen to KPop with me anymore! You win," Tina said, as she kissed him on the cheek. "No more BigBang, I promise."

'What are you talking about, Tee?" Mike asked.

She rolled her eyes at him. "BigBang? Haru Haru? That music video I had you watch with me the other day! Your 'nightmare' is basically your twisted version of their music video. I get it. You're sick of Korean pop."

He struggled to remember what she was talking about. Then it finally clicked for him.

* * *

"_Oh, Tina… Not this again," Mike groaned._

"_And why not?" Tina protested. "It's fantastic! BigBang is amazing. And the "Haru Haru" music video is moving."_

_He rolled his eyes at her._

_She sighed, deciding to pull out the big guns. Pouting, Tina asked, "Is it because I'm Korean? And they're Korean? I just thought that if you cared about me at all, you would want to show some interest in what I am into, such as my interest in the music of my heritage. You know, being the good boyfriend that you are."_

"_Fine. But seriously, the guys in there? They wear WAY too much makeup. And they fight like girls. And if I'm watching this with you, you have to promise not to swoon over that Tae Bo or Day Sing or whoever else."_

"_FINE. But for your information, it's Taeyang and Daesung," she said. She smirked a little. "I can't help it if Taeyang's abs remind me of you, though, hon."_

* * *

Mike grinned awkwardly. "Yeah… Now I remember. But Tee, I didn't make this up, I swear!"

"Oh, really?" she said disbelievingly.

"I promise," he said, lightly kissing her on the nose. Mike grabbed her hands and was so relieved to see his promise ring on her finger. "But I was so scared. When I woke up, I realized how lost I would be without you. I don't want you to _ever_ push me away because you think you know best and want to protect me. I'm supposed to protect you, and I want to always be there for you. I don't want anything, not even your pride, to come between us. _Promise me_, Tina."

Her eyes softened and she smiled slightly. "I promise, Mike," she said, sealing it with a kiss.

As they held hands walking down the hall, she turned to him and said, "You know, I could get used to this chivalry thing. It's pretty sexy. But…" He laughed as she lectured him on her independence and rights as a woman and how they need to fix his chauvinistic ways.

As long as they were together, he would do anything for her. He would stand beside her, day by day.

**Author's Note:**

**Soo… yeah. I watched BigBang's "Haru Haru" music video WAY too many times over the past few weeks. And it inspired me to put this little piece together. And the lyrics at the top are just an English translation I found online. And FYI, just because I mention assisted suicide, it doesn't mean that I promote it or anything! I know it's kind of a controversial subject, so I hope that no one will grill me about it. I didn't do a lot of research into it; it was just a thing I decided to use for a fictional story.**

**And for everyone who got this link as an author alert, I'm really sorry that I haven't put anything up for my other stories, especially to my **_**To London**_** fans. I'm in my first year of college, and things the past, like 10 months, have been hectic. There's just been way too many changes in my life and I haven't had a lot of time to come up with new material (other than quick one shots that won't leave me alone) or put together the rest of my story. I was only able to put this together since it's the first week of the semester and it's not quite busy yet.**

**But I should mention that, since forever I have been a huge Tike shipper! And especially since this season of **_**Glee**_**, they are probably my OTP. I've been wanting to work on more Tike stories and am probably going to give up on Puckleberry once I'm finished with **_**To London**_**. Especially since I can't stand Rachel anymore, but that's just my personal opinion.**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this! Please read and review!**


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